A New Power
by HazelProphecy
Summary: Set before Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Searching for a new apprentice, Sidious locates a great power arising from a distant planet. Upon arrival, he is surprised at what he finds.


Merry Christmas everyone! Purely for entertainment purposes. All credit to LucasArts.

It was during a time of contemplation and deep thought that the Sith Lord felt great power emanating from a distant world.

Darth Sidious is searching for a new apprentice. His last dark jedi, as powerful as he was, was too fearful, reckless and couldn't properly use this fear to his advantage. His lack of success in attempting to locate and capture the young jedi Qui-Gon Jinn was the last straw. So, without hesitation, Darth Sidious used his saber to slay Darth Zoran. Sidious will not stand for failure.

This power he felt from the planet was unusual, something he rarely experienced, but it was highly isolated and concentrated to a small area, possibly an individual with a great affinity to the dark side of the force.

After managing to track the sense to the distant planet of Iridonia, Sidious took a Sith cruiser, one of only two in existence, along with three of his personal red guards to the planet in an attempt to harness the power and locate its source.

Upon arrival, Sidious noticed the barren planet was highly primitive, unlikely he thought for a dark jedi with such power. The harsh rock planet with a cracked surface and minimal amounts of life did not deter the Sith Lord from his task. In a smooth movement, barely touching the ground, it seemed that the Sith Lord was gliding just above the surface through the use of his close connection and deep understanding of the inner workings of the force.

A small village was located not far from the landing sight. The huts were minimalistic, but strong. Designed to withstand the brutal conditions of the planet during its frequent storms, Sidious sensed that the inhabitants would be just as hardened.

As the Sith Lord progressed, guards following closely behind in perfect unison progressed through the village, searching for that vital sign of power, a warrior stood in his way. He was tall, slender, but muscular, with three small horns, typical for the Iridonians (also known as the Zabrak) wedged firmly in his skull with blue patterns on his face, similar to that of tribes, but natural rather than artificial. He stood in a confident position, with a hand-carved sword in his side.

Sidious, sensing that this was one of several local warriors, could not see the power in him that he was searching for. Without a word, the Sith Lord raised his hands and unleashed a torrent of lightning upon the warrior, watching him writhe in pain as he suffered at the hands of the dark Lord. After a seemingly long time, the lightning ceased and the Iridonian slumped to the ground, completely lifeless with smoke rising from his singed extremities.

Letting nothing prevent him from his search, Sidious continued on. Women and children looked out from the huts, fearful of the dark presence that had arrived. Eventually, the Sith Lord arrived at a small hut in the outskirts of the village. Waving open the door, Sidious signalled at his guards to wait at the entrance.

Sidious could feel it, he had found the right place. It was a basic hut, with minimal possessions, home to what appeared to be one person. Several rudimentary weapons adorned the walls. Spears, swords, maces and shields of various alternatives, all crafted from stone and forged metal. However, there was one missing. An empty space with no weapon. Home to a warrior, or a skilled craftsman, he thought. Sidious could see into the yard of the home. There were 6 dummies, all strategically placed around the space. Each was almost entirely shredded from slashes and strikes. One, in fact had completely been destroyed, with only the remains in a pile on the ground. As the Dark Lord passed through to the yard, the weapons began to shake, vibrating from the presence of the power.

As he reached the yard, a small child jumped in front, stopping Sidious in his path. Wielding a double-ended sword, almost as long as the child was tall, Sidious, as surprised as he was, knew he had found the power. The child was panting, with beads of sweat running down his black and red patterned face. There was a crown of small horns around the circumference his skull, rare to have so many. He was wearing simple, but effective robes, with arms exposed, showing a continuation of the exquisite patterns on his skin, allowing for movement and circulation whilst offering modest protection to the vital areas.

"I bring you no harm, little one." Began the Sith Lord. He could see the potential, the force was in this one, however, he could see that a connection to the force would not be his main strength.

Still in his aggressive, but comically unthreatening stance, the child would not give in to the intruder.

"Who are you?" The child said in a husky, deep but still undeveloped voice.

"Your new master."

"I obey no one!" Replied the child, using his staff to strike at the darkness in front of him.

Before he could finish his attack, Sidious raised his hand, gripping the child by the neck with the force, enough to make him scared, but not enough to kill. The staff fell to the ground and the child began to flail, frantically trying to release the choke.

"You have great power little one. I will teach to harness it, use it against those who oppose you, and bring the jedi to their knees. You will also learn to use fear as an ally."

Despite the obvious panic, the child was intrigued, he could finally become a true warrior. Sidious released the grip and the child had no aggression towards his new master.

Kneeling before the Sith Lord was a new power, a new threat which he thought will one day destroy the jedi and restore the sith to their former glory.

"I will do as you wish, master."

"Rise Maul, and together we shall rule the galaxy."

With that, the child stood up. He had changed. The hopeful, fruitful eyes which had once existed had gone. They had changed to a threatening shade of red. The dark side of the force had swept over him.

The Sith Lord turned around and left the hut.

"Guards!" He said, with a wave of his hand.

Silently, one of the guards entered the Maul's native home. With an unforgiving, but precise strike of their unique staff, he struck the boy in the temple, knocking him to the ground. As Sidious returned to the shuttle, the three guards followed closely behind, two of them dragging the new apprentice between them, head dangling limply between his shoulders.

The locals could do nothing. Perplexed, they looked on as the darkness returned to ship they came from, taking with them an outcast who had long abandoned any righteous morals.


End file.
